Berkeley:People's Park

It's the end of the road trip across California, and a fitting end of the line is the People's Park in Berkeley. The park today is a smallish area of grass, some scrubby vegetation and a sports court. It is an edge space; a few student playing sports, but mainly homeless people and lost souls making the park a makeshift home.

The park was supposed to be so much more. In 1969 it was the site a running battles between students, anti Vietnam war radicals and the Free Speech Movement versus the then Governor Ronald Reagan and the forces of oppression. This was when people believed that the world could be a better place and many students felt they had a responsibility to make change happen

A wall mural commemorates the event, with a particular feature being made of Mario Savio who had made one of the great radical speeches (see bottom enlargement).